Student shoots for the stars

Stunning images of space – captured on  a makeshift telescope in a back garden – have been unveiled by a University of the West of Scotland (UWS) student.

Bryan Shaw has spent hours stargazing, taking awe-inspiring photographs and videos for an end-of-year project for his BA Broadcast Production: TV & Radio course.

ABOVE: The Andromeda Galaxy (credit: Bryan Shaw)

The fourth year student has managed to capture detailed images of star clusters and nebulas located light years away, such as Pleiades, Andromeda Galaxy and the Orion Nebula.

Bryan – who only began taking photographs of space in April 2021 – often devotes full nights to his hobby, capturing photographs of the stars long into the small hours, outside his home in New Cumnock in East Ayrshire.

ABOVE: The Northern Lights (credit: Bryan Shaw)

He said: “When I began taking these photographs, it was very much trial-and-error as to how best to do it. I tried different set-ups and different lenses, before eventually settling on what I use now.

“It took time to figure out what the best way of doing this was. It wasn’t just about figuring out the perfect set-up, though – I had to learn how to identify and track what I wanted to photograph.”

ABOVE: The Moon (credit: Bryan Shaw) 

Bryan had some knowledge of the night sky, and knew how to pick out consolations and the north star – but for the purposes of his project, he knew he had to learn more.

ABOVE: The Orion Nebula (credit: Bryan Shaw)

He added: “I live rurally, and I always had the stars on my doorstep; and I know I’m incredibly fortunate that light pollution here is minimal.

“This inspired this project – I wanted to bring the stars to people who don’t get to see what I see. Even for people living where I live, I wanted to capture – or try to capture – a vision of space that they don’t see.

“The camera, due to its technical capabilities, is able to pick up things in the night sky that the naked eye cannot – colours, formations – details that are hidden to most.”

ABOVE: Pleiades

What began as a university project has evolved into a hobby – and Bryan is looking to take it further. He said: “It’s time-consuming, but I really do love this. I’m planning to get a bigger telescope to advance my knowledge, and let me capture things that I can’t at the moment.

“I want to take photos of individual planets, and craters on the moon – that’s what I’m planning. My ultimate ambition is to take a photo of a nebula known as Thor’s Helmet – it’s absolutely stunning, and it really does look like the helmet that belongs to Thor in the Marvel movies.

“As a big Marvel fan, that has to be my big goal!”

ABOVE: The Whirlpool Galaxy

BA Broadcast Production: TV & Radio Programme Leader Paul Tucker said: “Bryan is a great example of the innovative thinking and ambition shown by students who study Broadcast Production at UWS.

“The photographs he has managed to take from an ordinary garden really are incredible, and he should be proud of what he has managed to achieve.”

For more information about studying Broadcast Production: TV & Radio at UWS, visit: https://www.uws.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-course-search/broadcast-production-tv-radio/